Trial date set for local school volunteer accused of sex crimes involving children

A Nov. 4 trial date was set today for a former school volunteer accused of multiple sex crimes involving children in the Coachella Valley.   

James McCall Anderson, 36, is charged with two felony counts of knowingly distributing harmful matter and two misdemeanor counts of immoral acts before a child, according to court records.

The criminal complaint alleges the defendant was "habitually drunk" in the presence of at least one child in his care or custody.   

His co-defendant, Palm Desert resident Devin Daniel Lujan, 32, pleaded guilty in February to two felony counts of engaging in oral copulation on a child under 10 as well as one felony count each of lewd acts on a child under 14 and willful child cruelty, according to court records.

Lujan, a former Bermuda Dunes Learning Center teacher, was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison.

Both defendants volunteered at George Washington Charter School in Palm Desert, according to Desert Sands Unified School District spokeswoman Mary Perry.

The pair were arrested in July 2019 in the 74000 block of Scholar Lane in Palm Desert after deputies were tipped off to an allegation of child sexual abuse, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Office.

Anderson faces two felony counts of sending pornographic material to minors and two misdemeanor counts of committing immoral acts before a minor.   

Anderson was free on a $30,000 bail bond.